Fat free carrot cake

I made an amazing carrot cake for Easter....unfortunately I didn't get a picture.  I got a picture of every other item on our dinner table but, not the cake!  But anyway...back to the cake.  It was a perfect carrot cake.  And it was made even better by being fat free and low sugar.  

I have had people tell me before that people need fat in their diets, the fat free products are chemical bombs.  While I do agree with both statements I also believe that in general people get enough fat in the daily foods that they don't need any added fat in their desserts.  

Isn't a healthy dessert better than no dessert at all?  I think so.  If I didn't eat fat free desserts, I'd never eat desserts.  I didn't get the name The Fat Free Queen, for nothin'!  I can turn anything almost anything fat free.  

Before Easter I had never actually made a carrot cake before.   I might have made it once from a box mix but, other than that I had never made it.  I'm really surprised it turned out so well.  I had to replace 1 cup of oil.  Yup!  A regular carrot cake is made with a whole cup of oil.  I honestly can't understand why.  You'll never miss it.  By omitting the oil I saved over 1,900 calories and 200 grams of fat from the cake.   I have posted the nutritionals under the recipe.  

The one part of the cake that didn't work as planned is the cream cheese frosting.  It came out more of a glaze.  It still tasted amazing though.  I dipped my cake in it and ate it that way.  



Fat Free Carrot Cake
Adapted From:  Sprinkle Some Sugar

Ingredients

3 cups flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cup light brown sugar 

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tbs cinnamon

3/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp ginger

1 cup applesauce

5 egg whites (or the equivelent of 5 eggs worth of egg substitute)

1 tbs vanilla

2 cups finely grated carrots

3/4 cup raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 2 9 inch pans.
2. Put all dry ingredients into a bowl (flour, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves,ginger)
3. In a separate bowl place all wet ingredients (applesauce, egg whites, carrots, raisins)
4. Bake for 25-45 minutes
5. Let cool completely

Calories -- 430

Fat -- 0.7 g

Sodium -- 366 mg

Potassium -- 406 mg

Carbs -- 100 g

Fiber -- 3.6 g

Sugar -- 58.2 g

Protein -- 7.9 g

Fat Free Cream Cheese Frosting Glaze
2 8 oz containers fat free cream cheese
1 cup fat free Greek yogurt
Small bag of powdered sugar

1. Place cream cheese and yogurt in a stand mixer
2. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until desired sweetness
3. Place in fridge until chilled and thickened

Have you ever tried to alter a recipe?  Did it work?  Did it fail? Let me know below!

Miracle Drink

When you are training for a competition your macros (short for macronutritents; protein, fat and carbohydrates) are very structured.  You are limited to certain amounts per meal and per day for each of these.  For example, on a high carb day my limit is 95.  

On top of restricting carbs you also have to restrict your sugar intake.  {You should be watching your sugar intake no matter whether you're training or not honestly}  When it comes to what you can drink, watching all of these numbers pretty much leaves water and....well, water.

I had serious problems with this for the first few weeks.  I started only using my soy milk (I don't drink regular milk) in my morning oatmeal on my cheat day.  After suspecting that I have a soy intolerance and deciding to cut out all soy products from my diet I realized I'd have to ditch my cheat soy milk.  I knew that there were other nondairy options so, I started checking them out online.  

Most other milks had too much fat and carbs.  When I looked at the nutritional information for almond milk I was shocked.  

Low fat, no cholesterol, not too much sodium, <1 gram of carbs and 0 grams of sugar??!!?? Rock and roll!!  Now I can use it every day.  No more watery protein shakes?  No more non-creamy oatmeal?  This stuff is a miracle.  I'm in love!  You know what  the first thing I did with my almond milk?  Make a smoothie!  The carb for the meal was supposed to be complex, which means sweet potato (I can have other ones, I just really REALLY love sweet potatoes).  I decided to blend it all up together.  

Sweet Potato Smoothie

6 oz sweet potato, cooked
31 g (1 scoop) Protein Powder
6 oz silk unsweetened original almond milk
3 g PB2
1 T sugar free maple syrup (if your macros allow)
dash cinnamon

Directions

1. Scoop out the flesh of the sweet potato, discard (or eat) the skin
2. Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth

Have you had to cut anything out of your diet only to find a better substitute?

Fitness 5 on Friday

While wandering around the internet early in the morning I came across Jen's blog at JVKom.com.  I love link ups so I decided to take part in her Fitness 5 on Friday.  But first, a recipe.  

I keep trying new stuff with my oatmeal.  I get really, REALLY tired of plain oatmeal day in a day out.  So I like to make really simple things that kind of spice it up.  This week it was baked oatmeal.

Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients

.5 cup dry oatmeal

1 cup water (or milk)

1 egg 

dash cinnamon 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl
3. Grease a small baking dish (I think that this one was 16 oz)
4. Bake for 25-35 minutes
5. Let stand for 10 minutes

Remember, it is very VERY hot when it comes out of the oven!  I burned the hell out of my mouth and throat.

Didn't stop me from eating it all though!

Now for this week's questions.... 

1. How many minutes of Cardio did you do this week? 

So far I've done 2 hours and 55 minutes of scheduled cardio.  I have another 45 minutes from my trainer tomorrow and I teach 2 classes {an hour each} tomorrow also.    

2. What is your favorite physical activity?

Swimming.  I STILL dream of being an Olympic swimmer.  

3. How much water do you drink on a daily basis?

A ton.  Actually I probably go through over a gallon a day.  

4. What is your favorite healthy snack?

Before I started my competition prep it was either a fruit salad or popcorn.  

5. What’s your favorite athletic shoe?

Honestly I haven't found my favorite shoe yet.  I prefer to NOT wear shoes.  In my house athletic shoes are referred to as "foot jails."

Pancakes!!!

I love food.  Plain and simple.  I love eating food, I love cooking food, I even love THINKING about food.  Before I started The Fit Beach Babe I was {and still am} The Fat Free Queen.  It's a fat free food blog for people who have issues with fat due to gallbladder removal or even if they are just trying to watch thier intake.  

With that being said, the hardest thing about preparing for this competition is the lack of variety in my diet.  Fish and veggie but only CERTAIN veggies, fish and carbs but only CERTAIN carbs.  Day in and day out.....UGH!  So, when I find a way to turn my boring meal into something different, I jump at the chance.  

If you've been following me on Instagram you've seen that I have been playing around with a pancake recipe.  It took me 3 tries before I got it right.  It's 2 ingredients and you can add whatever you'd like to it.  I keep mine really simple with cinnamon.

2 ingredient Oatmeal Pancakes

1 cup of cooked oatmeal
.25 cup egg whites/egg substitute
Seasoning of your choice

1. Stir together the egg and oatmeal.  
2. Spray a skillet with nonstick spray and heat over med-high or high
3. Place half the batter in the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes , flip then cook for another 4-6 minutes
4. Repeat with other half of the batter

See?  Simple!  It takes about 20 minutes to make.  You could even make these when you meal prep and just heat them up in the morning.